PennDOT: Be prepared for delays on northbound I-83 this weekend

Those who missed weddings, funerals and appointments during last weekend's southbound I-83 shutdown might want to check out PennDOT's latest announcement.

Northbound traffic on I-83 in Shrewsbury Township, about 1.2 miles north of the Maryland line, will be restricted to a single lane starting at 9 p.m. Friday, said local PennDOT spokesman Greg Penny.

Crews will continue to repair a dip in the road caused by a deteriorating drainage pipe under the pavement, he said. They will pump concrete grouting into the 8-foot void that has developed underneath the road, he said.

Traffic restrictions will stretch throughout the weekend until the work is done, but the damage is not as pronounced on the northbound side as it was on the other, Penny said.

"(Crews) feel that they can insert that concrete grouting without having to excavate," he said. "They think they can do it with a single lane."

Last week: When a dip in the pavement on southbound I-83 suddenly sank 4 to 6 inches last week, PennDOT became concerned and sent crews into action, Penny said.

The work started off with just a single-lane restriction, but crews made a field decision Friday night to close both lanes for people's safety, he said.

Although PennDOT activated several signs on the highway leading up to the closure and sent out alerts, many people found themselves stuck in extreme delays, Penny said.

This weekend's work will be to shore up the pavement on the northbound side, he said.

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Although crews don't expect that both lanes will have to be shut down, drivers should check media sites and www.511PA.com for the latest updates, Penny said.

"People need to be alert that problems may develop, and they may need to be prepared that the road has to be closed like what happened last week," he said.

More work coming: And future work is in store for the area in the next couple weeks.

The drainage pipe, 13 feet in diameter, actually allows a tributary to Deer Creek to run underneath the highway, Penny said.

It's old infrastructure that dates back to the late 1950s when I-83 was built, he said.

As soon as materials for a pipe liner become available, crews will insert it to fix the deteriorated pipe, Penny said.

"They may need to take a lane out but can schedule time to do it and avoid heavy rush hours," he said. "We'll know better in a few weeks."